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The primary objective of this research study was to characterize the phenolic compounds and the antioxidant activity of dehydrated coffee (Coffea arabica L.) pulp by two drying methods (hot air and lyophilization). Coffee pulp samples were obtained from three farms in the Amazonas region (Peru). They were treated in a process that included washing, air drying, dehydration, grinding, and extraction using ultra-pure water and four organic solvents: 50% ethanol, 95% ethanol, 50% methanol, and 95% methanol. The results showed that the extracts obtained by lyophilization and 95% ethanol solvent had the most extraction capacity, phenolic compounds, and antioxidant capacity, with 66.3% and 402.6 mg of Gallic acid equivalents/100 g dehydrated pulp, respectively. It is concluded that 95% ethanol is the best solvent for the extraction of phenolic compounds in dehydrated coffee pulp by lyophilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The primary objective of this research study was to determine the antioxidant activity and the agro-industrial potential of oils extracted from seven different Amazon (Peru) fruit seeds: Vasconcellea pubescens, Vasconcellea weberbaueri (Harms) V.M., Solanum betaceum, Passiflora edulis, Physalis peruviana, Passiflora tripartita, and Spondias purpurea L. The Soxhlet technique was used for extraction of seed oils. The results showed that V. pubescens, V. weberbaueri harms VM, S. betaceum, P. edulis, P. peruviana, and P. tripartita seed oils have potential to be used in food development (IS = 62 to 84; AI = 0.18 to 0.64%). Heterogeneity was also observed in oxidative stability. The V. weberbaueri seed oil was the most stable (IP = 16.13) while the V. pubescens seed oil was the most unstable (IP = 126.34). It is concluded that the seed oils examined have great potential for human consumption, for developing foods and biofuels, and for developing other nonfood related applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Essential oils (AE) are used as preservatives in the food industry, due to their physicochemical characteristics and antioxidant activity. The aim of this research was to determine yield (R), specific gravity (GE), refractive index (IR), antioxidant activity (AA) and chemical composition of AE of huacatay (Tagetes minuta), poleo (Minthostachys mollis), rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.) and sachaculantro (Eryngium foetidum L.), plants collected from 52 districts of the Amazon region, Peru. For each AE, fixed-effect variance analysis was used with three replications and cluster analysis. The antioxidant activity was determined with the free radical method 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydracil (DPPH) and its most abundant components were identified with headspace gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry. The differences in R, GE and IR were significant between districts. The AA showed no significant difference between the districts, but between the plants itself. Among the most abundant volatile components, 1-adamantanol (44.42%) was identified in huacatay, β-phellandrene (20.85%) in poleo, β-myrcene (34.59%) in rosemary and α-pinene (23.41%) in sachaculantro. It is concluded that the geographic location significantly affects the physicochemical properties of AE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]